Dispensing container for collapsible tube with axially movable, rotatively actuated,follower-type extruder



1949- A. R, HUTCHASON 2,477,875

DISPENSING CONTAINER FOR COLLAPSIBLE TUBES WITH AXIALLY MOVABLE,ROTATIVELY ACTUATED, FOLLQWER-TYPE EXTRUDER Filed June 4, 1946 mamINVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 2, 1949 DISPENSING CONTAINER FORCOLLAPSIBLE TUBE WITH AXIALLY MOVABLE, ROTA- TIVELY ACTUATED,FOLLOWER-TYPE EX- TRUDER Arthur R. Hutchason, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application J unc 4, 1946, Serial No. 674,215

4 Claims. (Cl. 222-95) This invention relates generally to dispensingapparatus and more particularly to a case and dispenser adapted toencompass, surround, and contain a collapsible tubular container of atype well known in the art which generally contains relatively soft,flowable or pasty material, and which is adapted to controllablydispense said soft, fiowable or pasty material upon actuation of saiddispensing apparatus.

A collapsible tubular container might be made of any suitable material,A type well known in the art is made of soft metal such as is commonlyused for tooth paste tubes, shaving cream tubes, oil color tubes, tubescontaining pharmaceutical or therapeutic preparations, medicinalpreparations, cosmetics, and the like. My invention is particularly welladapted to dispense tooth paste, shaving cream, oil colors,pharmaceutical preparations, therapeutic preparations, medicinalpreparations, cosmetics, and, in fact, any and all relatively soft,fiowable materials adapted to be contained in such collapsible tubularcontainers.

In the past, one of the principal disadvantages inherent in using acollapsible tubular container containing a soft, flowable or pastymaterial was the fact that all of the soft, flowable or pasty materialcontained in said collapsible tubular container could not be readilyelected or removed from the tubular container, and, in fact','most suchcontainers, when finally thrown away, still contained a considerableportion of the material contained therein. However, in the apparatus ofmy invention, the collapsible tubular container is completely telescopedor collapsed and practically all of the soft, fiowable, or pastymaterial contained therein is ejected or removed from the container bymy dispensing apparatus. Thus the waste of the commodity contained inthe col- 'lapsible tubular container is eliminated.

A second major disadvantage in using collapsible tubular containers forsoft, flowable or pasty materials was that there formerly existed nomethod available for dispensing a measured quantity of the commoditycontained in a collapsible tubular container, whereas in the apparatusof my invention a precisely measured quantity of the soft, flowable, orpasty material carried by the container can be dispensed at will.

In the past, another disadvantage in using 001- lapsible tubularcontainers for soft, flowable, or pasty materials was the fact that thecollapsible tube was generally squeezed or rolled up in the course ofdischarging or dispensing the material, and often times the tube wall ofthe collapsible tube was ruptured and the contents would therefore leakthrough said ruptured portion. In the apparatus of my invention, thecollapsible tubular container is supported during the collapsing ortelescoping operation and collapses or telescopes evenly along thesupporting wall and the tube wall has no'tendency to rupture at anypoint.

Another disadvantage in'using collapsible tubular containers for soft,flowable, or pasty materials was the fact that such collapsible tubularcontainers could not readily be carried or moved around at will sincethey were readily collapsible. For example, if a tubular containercontaining tooth paste were carried in a grip, suitcase,-or other pieceof luggage, the container might readily be crushed, thus causing thewalls of the container to rupture and the soft, fiowable or pastymaterial to flow through said ruptured portion. In the apparatus of mypresent invention, however, the case or container which completelysurrounds, encompasses and contains the collapsible tubular containersis of non-frangible, non-collapsible composition and can readily betransported and relatively roughly handled without damage thereto.

The apparatus of my invention is well adapted to being supported in anupside 'down position in a bracket fixed to a wall or other primarysupport, thus making a convenient, fixed dispensing mechanism adapted todispense at each dispensing operation a measured quantity of a soft,flowable, or pasty material, and which might, for example, be situatedon a bathroom or kitchen wall, or any other suitable primary support.

The device of my invention is also well adapted to cooperate with a coincontrolled mechanism of a type well known in the art to comprise a coincontrolled dispensing mechanism adapted to dispense at each dispensingoperation a measured quantity of any desired soft, flowable, or pastymaterial.

It is of great advantage to be able to predetermine the amount of soft,flowable, or pasty material dispensed at each dispensing operation,because such predetermined amount can be set at the optimum amount forwhatever purpose the soft, flowable, or pasty material is to be used,whereas in the past an unmeasured quantity was generally squeezed fromthe collapsible tubular container which quite often might be more thannecessary for the particular purpose desired,,thus wasting a quantity ofsoft, fiowable or pasty material.

With the above points in mind, it is an object of this invention toprovide a dispensing apparatus adapted to encompass, contain, andsurround a collapsible tubular container for soft, flowable or pastymaterials and adapted, in its last dispensing operation, to discharge oreject practically all of the soft, flowable or pasty material in saidcollapsible tubular container and leave practically none of the soft,fiowable or pasty material Within the tubular container.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dispenser and case forcollapsible tubular containers of relatively soft, fiowab'l'e, or pastymaterials which is adapted to surround, encase, and encompass acollapsible tubular container for soft, flowable, or pasty material andwhich is adapted for each dispensing operation thereof to discharge ameasured quantity orally desired portion thereof of the soft, flowable,or pasty material contained therein.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dispenser and case forcollapsible tubular com tel-hers of relatively soft, flowable, or pastymaterlals and adapted to surround, encompass, and contain a collapsibletubular container contain mg a soft, fiow'able, or pasty material andadapted to collapse or telescope said'tubular container withoutrupturing the walls thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a dispenser and case forcollapsible tubularcontameis of relatively soft, nowabl'e, or pastymateriais adapted to contain, encompass, and surround a collapsibletubular container for soft, 'flowable, or pasty materials, said casebeing made of non-frangible, non-collapsible material, thus protectingthe soft, collapsible, tubular container contained therein from crushing"and damage resulting from rough usage,

Another object of the invention is to provide or. dispenser *and casefor collapsible tubular conminers of relatively soft, flowable, or pastymaterials adapted to surround, encompass, and "con- .3

train a collapsible tubular container which contains a soft, howable, orpasty material which will be of-lig-hh'sirnple cheap, andfo'olpr00f=construction. For example, the parts may be made of :plasticor any other suitable material.

The invention consists of the dispenser and case :in the parts andcombinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described andclaimed.

in the accompanying drawings Fig. A is 'a front view of my invention,partly in section.

:Fig; 2 is .a top sectional view of my invention taken along line Hl-Inf :Fig. 1

3 :is a top sectional view of my invention taken along line :IH ILI-OfFig. '1.

.An exemplary form of :my device, used for Lillustrative :DI'JDDQSBSonly, generally comprises an outer housing having cylindrical side Walls:pr vided with a closed bottom andan open top and a pair of opposingports adjacent the top ofsaid outer housing, .saidouter housing having acylindrical, internally threaded :member rotatably mounted within said Aouter housing, an eXteriorly threaded follower threadably engaged withinsaid [internally threaded, cylindrical member, the upper open end ofsaid housing being internally threaded, and an exteriorly threadedretainer threadably engaged within the upper -end of said housing. Sa-idretainer is provided wit-h :in-

wordly extending .prongs for gripping the upper end of a-tubularcontainer, which is to be can tained within the dispenser, forpreventing rotation of the tubular container with respect to theretainer. The upper surface of the follower has a groove therein adaptedto receive the bottom end portion of the tubular container which is tobe contained within the dispensing apparatus. The ports in the side ofthe outer housing make it possible to manually grasp the outer surfaceof said internally threaded cylindrical memher and rotate the same withrespect to the outer housing. This rotation of the internally threadedmember with respect to the outer housing 'causes a relative rotationbetween said internally threaded cylindrical member and said followeralso since said follower is fixed with respect to the outer housingthrough the medium of the groove in the upper surface of the follower,the lower end of the tubular container which is fixed in said groove,and the upper end of the tubular container which is fixed to theretainer by means of the prongs, and the retainer which is engaged withthe outer housing. Thus, when the internally threaded, cylindricalmember is rotated with respect to the outer housing, it is also rotatedwith respect to the follower, but since the follower and the internallythreaded member are threadably engaged, and since the internallythreaded, cylindrical member is abutted at each end thereof and cannotmove longitudinally, the follower moves upwardly, thus :collapsin'g andtelescoping the tubular container contained within the dispenser, thusdischarging a measured quantity of soft, 'flowable, or pasty materialcontained within the tubular container corresponding to the amount ofrotation "of the internally threaded cylindrical member with respect tothe outer housing.

The outer surface of the internally threaded, cylindrical member isfluted to facilitate manual gripping thereof.

More specifically, an outer housing having cylindrical side walls I isprovided with a closed bot-tom at=2, an open top at 3, and opposed portsI in the cylindrical side walls. A cylindrical, internally threadedmember 5, open at the bottom and topthereof, is rotatably mounted withinthe outer housing 1 and rotatably supported upon the closed bottom 2 ofsaid outer housing. Acy- -lindrical,-exter.iorly threaded follower "6 isthreadably engaged within the interior-1y threaded mem her *5 .at thebottom of such member, as viewed in Fig. 1. The upper surface :of theexteriorly threaded follower has a groove 1 therein adapted to engagethe lower end of a tubular container which is to be contained .in thedispensing apparatus. The upper end of the cylindrical walls I of theouter housing are internally threaded at 8.

An exteriorly threaded, cylindrical retainer 9 is removably andthreadably engaged with the interiorly threaded portion -8 of thecylindrical walls I of the outer housing. The retainer 9 is providedwith prongs 10 adapted to engage :and grip the upper end, as viewed inFig. of the tubular container which is to be contained in the dispensingapparatus. The lower end of said retainer 9 abuts the upper end of theinternally threaded cylindrical member 5 at I I, as viewed in .Fig. :1,and the lower end :of the internally threaded, cylindrical member 5:abuts the closed bottom 2 of the outer housing at -12, thus prethecylindrical walls I' of the outer housing, thus opening the upper end ofthe dispensing apparatus.' 'A collapsible tubular container of theproper size is'then inserted into the internally threaded,

gaged with the threads 8 on the interior of the upper end of thecylindrical walls I of the outer housing, and the prongs l securelyengage the upper end of the tubular container, thus preventing rotationof the tubular container with respect tothe retainer 9, the outerhousing I, and the follower 6. Then the cap of the tubular container isremoved and the soft, flowable, or pasty material contained in saidtubular container may be dispensed at will by gripping the flutedportion l3 of the internally threaded, cylindrical member 5 with onehand and gripping the cylindrical walls I of the outer housing with theother hand and relatively rotating these two elements.

It should be noted that when the tube of pasty material contained in theopen ended cylinder 5 has been compressed by means of the follower 6having advanced along the inner threaded sur face of the open endedcylinder 5 toward the upper end thereof until no further material iscontained in the tubular container, the retainer 9 i may unscrewed andthe exhausted tubular container removed from the open ended cylinder 5.The entire open ended cylinder 5 may also be removed from within theouter housing I, and

the follower 6 may be unscrewed the short dis- 5 tance necessary todisengage it from the upper end of the cylinder 5, and it may then bereinserted at the bottom end of the cylinder 5 and screwed a shortdistance thereinto. Then the cylinder 5 may have a tube of pastymaterial inserted thereinto and may be replaced within the outer housingI. This permits the rapid recharging of the apparatus of this inventionwithout the necessity of screwing the follower 6 all the way from theupper end of the inner cylinder '5 to the bottom thereof before beingable to place a tube of pasty material therein.

The amount of soft, flowable, or pasty material discharged will dependupon the angle through which relative rotation of the internallythreaded, cylindrical, inner member 5 and the cylindrical walls of theouter housing I takes place. The bottom 2 may be ported to permitinsertion of a screw driver or other implement for engagement with aslot formed in the bottom of follower 6.

While I have described one particular form of my invention, it will beapparent that various changes may be made in the form of the apparatusherein described and illustrated without departing from the spirit ofthe invention as defined in the annexed claims. It will be understoodthat although the groove '5 is shown in the drawing as a transversegroove, such groove may be in the form of a horseshoe or incompletecircle into which the end of the collapsible tube may be readilyinserted. Moreover, such tube end 're-' ceiving grooves may be formed onboth sides of follower 6 so that the inner member 5 is reversible; thefluting l3 may be at both ends of member 5 and more than one port 4 maybe provided. The end cap 9 may carry a hingedly connected closure or capcapable of releasably closing the end of the collapsible tube. It willbe evident that a suitably shaped nozzle element may be "attached to theneck or the tube in the device so as to permit the contents of the tubeto be discharged in regulatedamounts into nasal, rectal, or other bodycavities. "In'coin operated machines the device may be mounted within ahousing and a predetermined amount of rotation imparted to the member 5by means of a rack or other driven memberenergized by a coin controlledmotor drive; Hand creams, lotions, and other materials may be thusreadily dispensed in predetermined quantity.

I claim:

1. A dispenser and case for tubular containers of relatively soft,fiowable materials comprising: an outer housing having cylindrical sidewalls provided with a closed bottom and an open top and a pair ofopposing ports in said side walls adjacent said open top; a cylindrical,internally threaded member, open at the bottom and top thereof, withinsaid housing, said member rotatably resting on the bottom of saidhousing with a portion of its surface exposed through said ports in saidhousing; a follower threadably engaged within said member, said followerincluding means for grasping the end of a tubular container insertedinto said cylindrical, internally threaded member; and a retainerremovably attached to the open top of said housing, said retainerincluding means for holding the top of a tubular container from rotationrelative thereto, the ports in the housing providing means for graspingthe cylindrical member to impart rotation thereto within the housing,the internal threads of the cylindrical member translating rotation ofthe member into axial movement of the follower.

A dispenser and case for tubular containers of relatively soft, flowablematerials comprising: an outer cylindrical housing provided with aclosed bottom and an open top and a port in said cylindrical housing; acylindrical, internally threaded member, open at the bottom and topthereof, rotatably mounted within said housing with a portion of saidmember exposed through said port in said housing; a follower threadablyengaged within said member, said follower including means for graspingthe end of a tubular container inserted into said cylindrical,internally threaded member; and a retainer removably attached to theopen top of said housing, said retainer including means for holding thetop of a tubular container from rotation relative thereto, the port inthe housing providing means for grasping the cylindrical member toimpart rotation thereto within the housing, the internal threads of thecylindrical member translating rotation of the member into axialmovement of the follower.

3. A dispenser and case for tubular, collapsible'containers ofrelatively soft, flowable materials, comprising: a cylindrical outerhousing; a cylindrical internally threaded, open ended member, rotatablymounted within said housing; a top retainer and stop removably attachedto the top of the housing; stop means carried by the bottom of thehousing to limit axial movement of the inner rotatable member within thehousing; a follower threadably engaged within the inner member, saidfollower including means for grasping the lower end of a collapsiblecontainer inserted into said inner cylindrical member, while the upperend of such container is held against the inner surface of the topretainer; and port means in the housing for grasping the cylindricalmember to impart rotation thereto within the housing, the internalthreads of the cylindrical member trans- REFERENCES CITED The followingreferences are of record in the file of this patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Jordan Sept. 5, 1916 Janer July31, 1934 Deighton May 11, 1943 Murnane Apr. 17, 1945

